Circus Freaks
by IGdude117
Summary: Ty Lee struggles to trust a new friend. Written for the Probending Circuit fanfiction competition, Round 2.
**Task: The two characters endure a very hot day**

 **Prompts:**

 **(word) differences**

 **(character) Ty Lee**

 **(quote) "The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet." [Andy Warhol]**

 **(1350 Words)**

* * *

Kyoshi Island was never really the type of place you could get used to, she thought to herself, sweating profusely under the heavy robes of the Kyoshi Warriors.

The sound of fists upon fists, flurries of fluttering cloth, and the chittering of thousands of insects filtered in through the open door of the dojo, with no wind to make anything durable at all.

Almost lazily, she dodged a precise strike to her midriff, somersaulting out of the way and almost instinctively responding with a flurry of jabs, paralyzing the poor girl's arm before she became aware of what I was doing.

"Oh, no!" Ty Lee cried out, rushing to the young trainee's side in concern.

"I didn't mean to do that, I swear! Here- I'll fix that for you."

The girl, who looked both afraid and embarrassed, offered her limp arm as if offering a plate of icky food, her face brazen with shame.

"I lost track of myself, I swear. Your arm will be a bit tingly for a few hours, but I don't think it'll have any difference on your aura…"

After a few well-placed pinches and pulls, the girl retained movement to her arm, prompting Suki to come over, to Ty Lee's embarrassment.

"So… mind explaining what happened there?" she said, almost sternly.

Ty Lee blushed, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. She idly noticed that her hair seemed unusually scratchy, and resisted the urge to immediately rush to her room for her lotions and creams.

"I'm sorry, Suki. I guess… I guess I just kind of lost track of things."

Suki sighed, smiling slightly and regarding the rest of the girls, observing the younger trainees who were panting and grimacing in pain upon being flipped and grabbed every which way by the older trainers.

"I guess you could probably use a break. You've been doing a great job teaching us about chi blocking. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? You can start bright and early tomorrow."

Ty Lee beamed.

"Really?! Thank you so much, Suki. I'll work extra hard tomorrow," she said, leaping to her feet and hugging Suki tightly with an infectious grin.

She sprinted out, joyful at her new reprieve and looking forward to doing what shopping she could on Kyoshi Island.

* * *

She mostly ended up sitting on the roof of the town hall, staring down at the bustling town below and looking at the statue of Avatar Kyoshi. The sun was, of course, oppressive, but she almost preferred to be under it, clad once more in her familiar pink clothes.

It was almost like home, here. She had grown to love this place, its people, and its traditions so much; almost more than home. As much as she loved Zuko, Mai, Aang, and the others, she liked it here more. Here, she was free to be herself. She could bask in the presence of other strong-willed and interesting people, and she could pass on her knowledge.

Most of all, she could be unique here. For once.

The scraping of roof tiles from beside revealed Suki, dressed in a nice-looking green and gold tunic, nimbly climbing the tiles to join her, a slight smile on her face.

"Normally, I don't really like tunics like those, but I have to admit, they look fabulous on you!" Ty Lee said, beaming.

Suki laughed, embarrassed.

"Thanks. I don't really spend a whole lot of time out of the normal getup."

She settled beside Ty Lee. They sat, almost precariously, but mostly comfortable, on a small balcony above the bigger bay windows of the town hall. Up there, a cool breeze wafted almost constantly, making the once-oppressive heat almost bearable.

Almost.

"You know, you'd think I'd be okay with this heat, growing up in the Fire Nation, but… I've got to say, this is one of the hottest days I've experienced," Ty Lee said cheerfully.

Suki laughed again.

"I think you're one of the only people I know that could say that with a smile on your face."

Ty Lee grinned.

"Life's too short to be sad about things. I've always found it's easier to enjoy life for what it is."

Suki chuckled, glancing down at an admittedly handsome foreign boy lugging a crate towards the docks. Ty Lee noticed immediately, playfully pushing on Suki's shoulder.

"He's cute! You should go talk to him."

Suki looked at Ty Lee in something resembling abject shock.

"I wasn't… no, I-"

Ty Lee giggled.

"I know. I was just teasing. You've still got Sokka."

Suki blushed slightly, looking back at the receding boy.

"He's not from around here…"

Ty Lee smiled. These were the games she was used to playing.

"He looks like he's water tribe, but his skin is slightly lighter. Plus, most Water Tribesmen have sort of… thinner builds. He's has muscles bigger than my head. I'd say he's probably from Ba Sing Se- a middle ringer even, apprenticed to a merchant or something. His clothes are certainly fancy enough."

She stopped for a moment, realizing that she had just said that out loud and at a speed that would impress a wolf-cheetah. Suki looked at her with a lopsided grin.

"I'm impressed. You should go for him."

Ty Lee entertained the thought for a moment. Her childhood fantasies of meeting a handsome hero, being in some valiant adventure, and riding off in the sunset happily ever after flitted through her mind, shiny and romantic like a painting on a wall.

Then, images of cruelty; of war, flames devouring everything, and a laughing, cold girl who controlled her every move returned to her mind and she became serious.

"The most exciting attractions are between opposites that never meet," she muttered, remembering a line from a poem she had heard as a young girl.

Suki looked at her quizzically.

"What does that mean?"

Ty Lee started slightly, as if she had snapped out of a dream.

"Oh! Its… it's something I read somewhere. It means that the beginning of a relationship is the best part. It's the time when the romance is real, when everything is so… passionate. It's the only time life seems like a storybook."

"Only the beginning?"

Ty Lee nodded sadly, memories of long-gone friends and shallow love interests.

"Things fade. The spark dies. And then, everything becomes so… real, and life is never so pretty again."

Suki frowned, leaning back on her arms as a giant koi fish flipped out of the smooth, shimmering sea.

"That's not very optimistic, Ty Lee."

Ty Lee smiled grimly, thinking back to the dozens of boys she had broken up with when they turned out to be shallow, greedy, and cold. It had been hard, every time, and she had forced herself to be cold that way. Then, it had happened with friends. Friends like Azula, her closest friend, and things stayed cold.

She had done that again and again, even long after the war, and had held people at arm's length, despite the friendliness and happiness she tried her best to maintain. Only a few people- people like Mai, and even Zuko at times, had stayed within her shell.

She now realized that perhaps Suki- the girl who, so long ago, she had helped imprison and defeat- could be another one.

"Yeah, I guess it's not," Ty Lee said, flashing a cheerful smile at Suki as she pushed the bad thoughts away.

"Wanna go back to the dojo?"

"What about your day off?"

Ty Lee shrugged cheerfully, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"Bet I can get there before you can."

Suki grinned mischievously, instantaneously swinging off of the roof and into the open window, sprinting towards the back. Leaping into the air, Ty Lee laughed once more, a feeling of freedom and pure joy overtaking her as she slid towards the small, wooden dojo in the distance.

Life was too short to dwell on the negatives, she thought idly as she landed on the ground, sprinting forward.

After all, negative energy was totally bad for the skin…


End file.
